Coldwater Creek is known for its stylish women's apparel, unique gifts and beautiful jewelry. The company has a devoted clientele around the world and here on Cape Cod, the latter prompting the opening of a retail shop in Mashpee Commons. Yesterday, Coldwater Creek opened its doors to welcome shoppers to its 5 North St. address. The shop will be one of the company's largest retail spaces at 6,100 square feet.

David Gunter, divisional vice president of corporate communications at Coldwater, said Mashpee Commons was the ideal spot for a store as there are more than 110,000 Coldwater Creek Internet and catalog customers within a 50-mile radius.

The company also appreciated that Mashpee Commons is a lifestyle center as opposed to a shopping mall. "The lifestyle concept is really hot in the country right now," Gunter said. "Our customers love this concept. They can park right out front, shop and have lunch in a high-end place afterwards. Given the choice between a mall and a lifestyle center, we will gravitate toward the lifestyle center."

Form follows function inside the store. Rather than sectioning goods based on specifics, such as jewelry or accessories, the store setup lends itself to browsing. This allows the customer to discover a variety of items throughout the shop.

While many catalog items will be available in the new store there is a limit to how much the shop can carry. To accommodate their clientele the shop will have an online ordering kiosk in the store as well as personnel who can assist customers in ordering catalog items through the store.

Coldwater Creek will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.